ILWU files unfair labor practice charge

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union said Tuesday that it had filed an unfair labor practice against Mitsui-United Grain, which operates a grain export terminal in Vancouver, Wash., on the Columbia River.
The union is complaining about a lockout of 200 members of ILWU Local 4 that began on Feb. 27. The company said it began the lockout after an investigator it hired allegedly found evidence that a union member who was part of the Local 4's labor relations committee vandalized equipment.
The ILWU said United Grain “took the extreme measure of
locking out its entire bargaining unit even though by its own statements
it had identified and terminated the employee allegedly responsible for
the property damage."
The union said "this constituted loss of employment based on anti-union animus, and a
sweeping unilateral change of terms and conditions of employment.”
ILWU Local 4 members have been walking round-the-clock picket lines at the Mitsui-United Grain gate. - Chris Dupin